How To Do the Airport

I spoke with some passengers this past weekend that dragged their large “carry-on” to the back of the plane. And, their friends? I just hope that they made the next flight!

These days when I travel I hope that I am on Comair. I admit that I hope it’s mainline for a long flight but I sure do love the convenience that a lot of people just do not get of leaving my bag at the stairs, called “pink tagging”. Have you ever left your car with the valet? It’s kind of like that except that you don’t tip the guy giving your bag back to you. And, you get to keep the little bit of leg room that the airline allows. When, you get to your next city you pick it back up plane side. It’s as easy as that.

The next one is a bit more important. DON’T BE LATE. Just because you hold a ticket doesn’t mean much. If you are 30 minutes late, you do not get to check any luggage. If you are much later than that, you don’t get on either. Flights close approximately 3-5 minutes prior to departure time and you may be denied boarding 10 minutes prior. With the way that flights are booked these days, if you miss your flight there’s no guarantee that the next flight has your name on it either. If you have a problem getting up in the morning then take a later flight. Keep in mind that the later in the day your flight is the more chance of delays.

Here’s the way it works.

The flight crew starts out their day. Let’s say it’s first thing in the morning. IF everything checks out, the crew performs their security checks, boards the passengers and leaves. If you are not going to Atlanta, Chicago, New York or New Jersey and any other high traffic area your chances have already improved. If there are any traffic delays that adds minutes to the flight, which can start the spriral down. When you are waiting for your flight and it’s late, it may be because there are traffic delays in the city where the plane is coming from. It may also be that the crew flying the aircraft that you are taking out have been dealing with delays all day.

Some times delays from the day before can carry out into the next day but be assured the crew will do everything in their power to make up time. This not only helps the passengers but also helps the crew by getting the often short amount of rest on their overnights.